MORAL AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN CHINA ¹

The problem of moral and religious instruction is an old one;it is as old as human society.It was the Greek genius that first embodied it in a philosophical presentation:“Can virtue be taught?”asked Socrates.To this Protagoras answered that it could be taught, while Socrates held to the reverse position;but at last both confused themselves with self-contradictions and left the whole matter in the cloud.However, to a modern educator this is no longer a puzzle.The chief problem of the modern educator is not “Can virtue be taught?” but “How can it be taught?”It is the purpose of this paper to present some ideas as to how morality and religion are taught in China, and how they may be better taught in the light of modern pedagogy.

A Practice of Religious and Moral Instruction in China

Roughly speaking, there are at present two systems of schools in China:government schools and missionary schools.

1.Government Schools

In the curriculum of government schools we find moral instruction given in the lower primary schools up through the intermediate schools, but not any that I know of beyond this.The lower primary, called the“citizens schools,”cover four years;the higher primary, three years;and the intermediate, four years.

In the lower and higher primary schools, two kinds of moral subjects are taught.They are, first, personal conduct, and second, classical study.

With reference to moral instruction, the Ministerial Ordinance of January 8, 1916 ² prescribed its aims and methods quite in detail.Under the head of personal conduct, the subjects taught are:filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, trustworthiness, love, righteous courage, politeness, industry, and cleanliness.To these the duties towards society and the state are gradually added from time to time.From the Ordinance we notice that attention is called to the practical aspects of these subjects.They are urged to be taught with a purpose of fostering the ideal of progress and the spirit of patriotism.

The moral instruction for girls in elementary schools consists of good words and deeds which are proper for girls to study.Besides, rituals are practiced.Emphasis put on chastity, modesty, and above all, self-independence, which is a new word in the history of Chinese feminine education.

The teaching of personal conduct covers two hours a week from the lower primary up through the higher primary, and one hour a week in the intermediate school. ³

Now we come to classical studies.Somebody will maintain that the study of the classics belongs to religious instruction, on the ground that it is the study of Confucian doctrines.But in the last analysis the Confucian doctrines are purely a system of ethics—a system of human relationships, which is more or less universally adopted in China.This system of ethics is not denominational, because we find, as we shall see later, this very thing taught in nearly all missionary schools.

In the lower primary, the study of classics consists of Mencius , which covers four years. Analects takes its place in the higher primary.These courses, as described in the Ministerial Ordinance, are given with the purpose of showing the right way—principles of the sages—and of promoting the spirit of patriotism.It is very interesting to observe that the Ordinance tries to make a distinction between the“right principles of the sages”and“personal conduct.”This is most likely due to the existence of two tendencies, i.e., the tendency to preserve classical virtues and the modern tendency to emphasize the practical.

The study of the classics begins at the third year of the lower primary and is carried on up through the higher primary.Throughout, the weekly amount of time devoted to this study is three hours.In the intermediate school advanced studies in classics are continued; as it is mixed up with literature and other subjects, I am not able to assign to it a definite amount of time for each week.

Combining the amount of time spent in the instruction in personal conduct and in classical studies we find that the time devoted to moral instruction is two hours per week in the first two years, and five hours a week from the third year on up through the seventh year, and one hour or more per week in the intermediate school.

Comparison with Foreign Systems:One way of realizing the GreekMotto“Know Thyself”is through comparison with others.In the light of the educational practice in other countries we shall come to know better our own.Let us now take a bird's eye view of the moral and religious instruction in England, Germany, the United States, and France, and see in what position China stands.

At the outset I wish to say that which is taught in England is commonly called religion and not morality.Scripture is a term which is used in the curriculum.In the English regular primary schools or Board schools,undenominational religion or Bible study forms part of the curriculum ⁴ .Besides, we find sectarian teachings taught in schools belonging to the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Wesleyan Church.These church schools are, equally with the Board schools, supported and controlled by the state.The only difference between them is that the Board schools depend upon local rates, while denominational schools depend upon charity, for further funds.In fact, the influence of the latter type seems to be much greater than that of the Board schools.It is reported that thirty-one out of forty-four training colleges of teachers belong to Established Church.

As to time allotment for special instruction in Scripture, it is usually two and a half hours a week throughout the Board and grammar schools.This, however, cannot be taken as the typical example because it is very hard to find a curriculum which really represents the English system.Besides the regular instruction in the Scripture there are church services.In all public schools the chapel service is that of the Church of England.

As in England, it is religion that is taught in the German schools ⁵ .In Germany we find two kinds of elementary schools, each covering eight years, and five kinds of secondary schools, three of which cover nine years.It is very interesting to notice that almost every public school in Germany is denominational, i.e., either Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, or Mixed.The local control of the school is largely in the hands of the local clergy, so that although all schools are public, the hold of the mother church upon them is still firm.The teachers are also distinctly religious.They receive religious instruction in the normal schools from three to four hours a week for three years.Each school has its teachers of the favored faith, and text books on religious instruction are prepared by them.In districts which are sparsely populated, children of different faiths receive secular instruction together.These are called Mixed schools.In such a school when students of the same faith reach the number of ten or fifteen, they can demand a teacher belonging to their own denomination.

In Germany it is found that in all kinds of elementary schools, religious instruction occupies four hours a week, and in the secondary schools, three hours a week in the first year, beyond which two hours a week throughout.

The situation in both Germany and England is unique.Very little similarity exists between these two systems and ours.One is distinctly religious and the other is distinctly moral or ethical.As far as time allotments are concerned, Table I shows that the Chinese system is stronger, at least, in elementary schools.Further, the Chinese system is continuous;i.e., the elementary school leads into the secondary school, while in both Germany and England the secondary curriculum meets half way with the elementary.

Opposed to the religious character of the Anglo-German type of public education, the public primary schools and high schools in the United States are secular and undenominational. ⁶ Thirty states of the Union prohibit support to denominational schools. ⁷ Twelve states have constitutional provisions against sectarian text books and sectarian control over public schools.Mississippi is the only state stipulating in her constitution that the Bible shall not be excluded from her public schools, and only nine states have statutory provision for this cause.The laws of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and that of North Dakota permit only ten minutes' daily reading of Bible without comment.

As to moral instruction, twenty-one states have made legal provision for it.But the prevailing type of American public school is without any formal instruction in religion or morality.The former is taken care of by the church, while the latter is given in connection with other subjects.

Table I representing the number of hours per week devoted to religious or moral instruction in the elementary and secondary schools in England, Germany, France, the United States and China.

This table is constructed from the materials furnished in Paul Monroe's Secondary Education , pp.80, 85, 97, 98, 109-110, A.C.Perry's Outline of School Administration , pp.15, 42, 379 and the Chinese Government Educational Bulletin .

As in the United States, the French public primary schools are secular;but unlike the former, they lay great stress upon formal moral instruction. ⁸ Only lay teachers are allowed to teach in the public schools.As a result in Catholic France, there arise the sectarian private schools, but again, unlike those in the United States, these schools are subjected to state inspection on matters relating to morality, laws, and the constitution, but receive no support from the State.The secondary schools in France are also secular.However, the ministers are allowed to attend, outside of the usual classroom hour, for the purpose of giving religious instruction to those who desire it.

Now, both in France and the United States we find some features similar to the Chinese system.As in the United States, the Chinese course of study is continuous, i.e., the elementary curriculum leads to the secondary curriculum without any break or overlapping.As in both the United States and France, the governmental schools are essentially secular and are free from religious restriction.Although it is alleged that the worship of Confucius is conducted in the school, from its very nature such a worship is but a tribute of honor and love paid to a national sage, and is not very different from the celebration of Washington's or Lincoln's birthday.The non-sectarian nature of the Confucian ethics is further proved by the fact that even in missionary schools, these doctrines are invariably taught.Thus we can readily see that whether Confucianism ought to be taught in its original form in the elementary schools or not must be looked upon as pedagogical rather than a religious question.Admitting that this point of view is the true fact, then of the two countries compared the Chinese system is more like the French, because as in French and not in the United States, the prevailing tendency is a formal instruction in morality.

2.Religious and Moral Instruction in Missionary Schools in China

In the treatment of this topic, attempt is made to divide it into three parts, namely: (I) Primary Schools, (II) Secondary Schools, (III) Colleges.A statement must be made to the effect that the conclusions reached in the following discussion are incidentally drawn from past personal impressions, but are mainly based on the information contained in the curricula and catalogues of different missionary institutions and are thus not free from the shortcomings which are inherent in such a study.Further, a few of the curricula which have been studied, such as the Central China Educational Union, Soochow University, and Hangchow University curricula, are not quite up to date.The readers must beware of possible improvements in these institutions since their dates of publication and make due discount accordingly.

ⓐ Missionary Primary Schools ⁹ Two curricula out of five, the Standard Course of Study of the Union Educational Movement in the province of Chili, and the Central China Educational Union Curriculum, are selected to represent the central tendency of religious and moral instruction in missionary primary schools.

Table II: Comparison of time allotment for moral and religious instruction in Missionary Elementary Curricula with that of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, chosen as a representative curriculum in American denominational elementary education, and with the Chinese Government Elementary Curriculum.

Chr.stands for Christian literature other than Bible;B, Bible;C, Classics;P, Personal Conduct;m, Memory Work;and T, Total No.of hours.Chr.代表基督教文而非《圣经》，B代表《圣经》，C代表经书，P代表修身，m代表背诵课，T代表总学时。

Both the Chili and the Central China Curricula cover eight years.Although the Chili Curriculum does not specify a definite amount of time given to moral instruction in some grades, yet from that in the fifth, sixth and seventh grades we are pretty safe in saying that it is quite the same as the Central China Curriculum.

The chief fact about these curricula is the existence of a dualistic feature, i.e., Christian religion and Confucian ethics are taught at the same time to the same children and not infrequently by the same teachers.

The second fact is the amount of moral and religious instruction loaded upon the child.In the Chili Curriculum we notice that during the first two years religious and moral instruction occupies ten hours a week.From the third year on we have eight hours a week throughout, except in the fourth year, which alone devotes only seven hours.By comparison we can readily see how much more time is allotted for moral and religious instruction than in either the curriculum of the Chinese Government schools or that of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, which may be taken as representative of sectarian primary schools in the United States.

The third fact is the drudgery of memory work.In the Chili Curriculum we notice that the work of memorizing the Bible and the Chinese Classics is carried up through the sixth year.The Central China Curriculum does not specify memory work after the third year, but during the first three years when motor activity is most needed, the child is also subjected to the formal memorization of Analects .The work of memory is not in itself bad;if learning is of great use, we must know how to retain it.In the matter of morality and religion, it is the concepts gained from experience, and not precept ground from books, that most need to be retained and developed.The former will be taken care of by experience itself, while the latter will eventually be lost in spite of the process of formal memorization.However, we must not be too harsh in our criticisms.We will all know what may be the result when new wine is put into the old bottle.As the missionaries get into contact with our traditional methods, their untrained teachers and educators are apt to fall into the temptation to copy and imitate.

ⓑ Secondary Schools ¹⁰ Under moral and religious instruction in the missionary secondary schools only college preparatory schools are presented here for discussion.These institutions usually have a course for four years.Among the leading university preparatories, Soochow and Foochow rank highest in the amount of time allotment, three hours a week being devoted to religious instruction.Next come Hangchow, Nanking, West China Union, Shanghai Baptist, St.John’s, which have two hours per week for religious instruction.Boone University Preparatory is most liberal;it spends only one hour a week in such a course.Compared with the denominational Academy of St.Olaf University in America, most of the missionary university preparatories, except Soochow and Foochow, are a little lighter in time allotment.

In the preparatory schools of Boone, Nanking, Foochow, West China Union, and St.John's, the provision for the study of Chinese ethics is absent at least in name.In some of these institutions the Classics are studied as literature.The preparatory schools of Soochow, Hangchow, and Shanghai Baptist, still continue the dualistic feature, as can be readily seen from Table III.

Table III: Time allotments for religious and moral instruction in missionary secondary schools compared.Figures represent the number of hours per week through the year.

ⓒ Missionary Colleges ¹¹ In such institutions as West China Union University, Canton Christian College, St.John's University, and the University of Nanking, other allied subjects of religion have been introduced to replace the instruction in creeds and beliefs of a particular denomination.Although they are closely connected with religion, yet such courses as the philosophy of theism, comparative religion, science and philosophy of religion, religion and the nation, history of the social influences of the Church, and education in religion and morals are not what we ordinarily call religious instruction.They are essentially the philosophical, sociological, and pedagogical studies.Therefore the colleges which have gradually substituted these vitalized subjects naturally form a more liberal group by themselves.This group includes West China Union University, Canton Christian College, St.John's University, University of Nanking and Shanghai Baptist College.A study of the catalogues of these institutions through a number of years points to the conclusion that they seem to have a tendency to follow the course along which the American nonsectarian private universities have evolved from the original sectarian institutions.

The conservative group consists of Hangchow University and Soochow University.In these institutions no attempt has been made to introduce subjects other than the traditional curriculum of religious instruction.The subjects taught are usually The Gospels, Acts, The Prophets, and so on, but not beyond the two Testaments.However, in order to be fair, it must be stated again that the catalogues of these two institutions accessible to this paper were published in 1912 and possible improvements since that date are very conceivable.Nevertheless, so far as the conditions in 1912 are concerned, the authenticity of data justifies this classification.In subject matter, even the very conservative denominational universities, Georgetown and St.Olaf in the United States, are more liberal than they are.Soochow averages higher even in time allotment for religious instruction than St.Olaf, if not higher than Georgetown.

Table IV:Comparison of the subject matter of and time allotments for moral and religious instruction in Missionary Colleges.

The only institutions left unclassified are Foochow Uni.and Boone University.No information has been obtained in regard to the nature of the subject matter of religious instruction in Foochow Uni.With respect to the amount of time devoted to religious instruction, Boone University is one of the liberal type, but in the matter of subjects taught it can hardly be classified as such.

We can still trace the dualistic tendency of teaching Christian religion and Confucian ethics in the curriculum of Hangchow University.Here we find side by side with the instruction in religion three hours a week devoted to the study of Classics as ethics.This feature is by no means peculiar to Hangchow, and may be found in other colleges.

B Theories of Education in Morals and Religion

1.The Psychological Basis for Moral and Religious Education

Both religious and moral education are governed by the same laws of psychological life and have the same psychological basis.At the very beginning of human life we inherit a number of well-defined tendencies to act in a certain situation and toward a certain direction.These well-defined tendencies constitute what we call the original nature of man.And all the forces that act upon it after conception are considered environmental forces.Prof.Thorndike ¹² maintains that character—what a man is and does—is a result of the continuous interaction between the original tendencies and environmental forces.This starts our theory of Situation-Response-connection.This means that there is a spontaneous connection between a specific original tendency and a specific situation.For instance, in the situation of the presence of a bowl of rice and I am hungry, my original response toward the rice is to take and eat it.Now suppose one of the elements changes, say I am not hungry, then my attitude toward the rice will be different because of the change in the situation.

Character is simply the accumulated habitual connection formed in a similar manner.The problem of moral and religious education is thus the formation of the desired connections between a certain situation and a certain original tendency or group of tendencies in response.The worth or value of any one original tendency lies in its functioning in the situation; in the realm of morality and religion it depends on how the tendency works out in the social environment.As the social environment advances in civilization, some of man's original tendencies, such as the sexual impulse, which are universal and essential to human life, and yet if allowed their own development is not suitable to present social conditions, need to be modified;other original tendencies, such as anger instincts, etc., are for most of the time even harmful to the individual and to society, and need to be discouraged;finally, we have all sorts of beneficial instincts, such as the instinct of gregariousness, cooperativeness, etc., which need to be strengthened and enriched.Thus the duty of the school towards the student's character formation is to modify, redirect, discourage, strengthen, enrich, and develop the respective instincts so that the possessor can adapt himself to the social environment in a harmonious and progressive manner.

Now, in order to perform this task intelligently, three laws need to be recognized. ¹³

First, we have the law of readiness.When the child's attitude is one of readiness to act, if it has the opportunity to do so it gets satisfaction.On the other hand, when the child is not ready to act, if it is compelled to act, or when it is ready to act but is not allowed to, in both cases the child is dissatisfied or annoyed.Therefore one fundamental principle of educational method is to appeal to the interest of the taught.This doctrine of interest is especially important when we come to the matter of religion or inner belief.Any outside compulsion against the child's mind set will surely cause repulsive reactions.

Next, we come to the law of use and disuse.When a modifiable connection is made between a situation and a response, that connection's strength, other things being equal, is increased, and, when it is not made, decreased.Take smoking, for instance;the moment our lips touch a cigar a connection is made.The more often we smoke the stronger will be the connection between us and the cigar, until finally the bond becomes so strong that it can hardly be broken.On the other hand, the method of breaking any bad habit is to make no more connections.

Finally comes the law of effect.When a modifiable connection between a situation and a response is made and is accompanied or followed by satisfaction, that connection's strength is increased, and when the connection is accompanied or followed by an annoyingness it is decreased.This is the most important law for moral education.It is but the temporary and immediate satisfaction which a vice gives to a man's original nature that makes a man its slave.With the law of effect,we can attach a satisfying state of affairs to those connections which are good for society and the individual and attach annoyingness to those which are undesirable.This will be the most effective means for moral improvement.However, the three laws are correlative.Apart from the law of readiness, men may invent all sorts of emulations and punishment against the mind set and“interest in the process”of the child, which is the most condemnable thing in school practice.

2.The Sociological Basis

The operation of the psychological laws will be made clearer as we go along in the discussion of the sociological basis.Character, after all, can only be formed by active participation in social life.The child does not know what is meant by honesty, cleanliness, or faith unless he has some experience to begin with.We do not know how to swim by simply learning some movements on land.If we want to succeed in swimming, we have to learn it in the water.So it is the case with conduct.If we want to know how to behave well in society we have to participate in it, to participate in it in order to acquire the meanings of the virtues, to participate in it in order to acquire judgment so that we may know how to act in a new situation through the experience of the past.In a word, the school, the whole school should be a miniature society where moral and spiritual ideals must be at work, and where the child can share in the important phases of social life. ¹⁴ Inasmuch as we spend most of our time in teaching virtues and beliefs according to books and words and rarely provide such active participation in social life, we must admit that the present methods are far from being adequate.When a six-year-old child begins to study Mencius or Paul he may appear to understand something, but in fact it is but skin deep.Suin Tze, in criticizing formal instruction, says:“The common people's education comes into the ears and goes out through the mouth, and therefore it is only four inches deep—the distance between the ears and the mouth.” ¹⁵ We may safely say that ideas about morality do not guarantee the conduct we desire, and any instruction based on this ideo-motor theory ¹⁶ will surely find disappointment.One reason why we find little or no conflict existing between the instruction in Christian religion and Confucian ethics in missionary schools is because the formal instruction in both religion and morality without actual participation is without much effect on conduct.

Furthermore, the child whose character we try to build up is a developing being.He grows in society.His experience is in a state of“continuous reconstruction.”His interest and attitude change from time to time.According to Baldwin ¹⁷ the child first distinguishes external things from his bodily self, then it differentiates the external things into persons and inanimate objects, and at the third stage it attempts to perform and imitate the former's actions.Through imitation the child comes to know and feel himself in the mind of others, and thus furnishes the opportunity for others to influence his own action.

In the exertion of such an influence we must also recognize the four stages of the development of conduct. ¹⁸ First, we have the stage of instinctive behavior, at which the child's conduct is modified only by the influence of pains and pleasures.[...] is the stage at which the operation of the instinctive impulses is modified by the influence of rewards and punishments, administered more or less systematically by the social environment.Third, we come to the stage where conduct is controlled in the main by the anticipation of social praise and blame.Finally, there is the highest stage of moral development, at which conduct is regulated by an ideal that enables a man to act in a way that seems to him right regardless of the praise or blame of his immediate social environment.This fourth stage suggests to me“the Good Shepherd.” ¹⁹ It reads:“I am the good shepherd…and I lay down my life for the sheep.…Therefore does my Father love me because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.”Up to this place nothing sounds very extraordinary, but watch that which follows:“No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself.I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again.”It is such high moral power that we must take as our final goal of development.Those who take the responsibility of shaping the child's conduct must keep in mind the progression from the first to this highest stage.They must administer their influences and adapt materials in such a way as to enable the child to progress continuously onward and upward until this last stage is reached, when conduct sometime is the only language intelligible to the child.

3.The Pragmatic Basis ²⁰

Closely connected with the sociological theory of moral and religious education there is the pragmatic aspect of the question.According to this point of view, there is a unity between knowledge and conduct, in learning and doing.As knowledge is the concept and guidance of conduct, so conduct is knowledge personified.Knowledge apart from conduct is empty knowledge, while conduct apart from knowledge is blind action.The two are one and the one cannot be gained without going through the other.Accordingly, all the courses in the curriculum and all classrooms and administrative methods must have the end of character formation in view, just because all knowledge is related to conduct.So all subject matter and methods as a result of accumulative effects must be able to contribute their share in the creation of a wholesome personality.Take the study of history, for instance.The study of history is the study of social causation and effect in the light of past experience, so that the present conduct can be adjusted and future conduct guided.Inasmuch as it has to do with human relations, the teaching of history involves moral ends, and inasmuch as it relates to the adaptation to a spiritual ideal it is religious.Similar things can be said on other subjects.Therefore if right materials are used and proper methods applied all the school subjects in totality will and must culminate in the collective effect of character formation.The attempt to provide certain subjects for the training of the mind and other subjects for the training of good behavior is at the bottom wrong in principle, because it is based on the separation of knowledge from conduct.The systems of moral and religious instruction in both the governmental schools and the missionary schools are not free from this criticism.The only remedy is to change the methods and materials of instruction and administration, so that the moral and religious elements can be incorporated into the whole school system.The methods applied should be guided by psychological laws, the materials used should be directed toward social needs and the process of incorporation should be pragmatic.

...But in all cases, the psychological nature of the child must be recognized; social significance must be attached and opportunity for actual participation must be provided.The child, according to its stage of development, must be led to get into contact with all sorts of social needs—the poor, the sick, and the suffering....In a word, he must be put in the social hot-bed of love, service, and sacrifice, and educated to love, to serve, and to sacrifice on his own initiative. 3cWELHcIfSaVvRLKcJGq+gbCin2AikikjsXr2PmmI1msVn8Bgit3wU4npVruqbEl